Heart of Ice
by Spunky0ne
Summary: As the Seireitei falls into ruins at the hands of the quincies, Sexta Espada, Grimmjow, finds an injured and pregnant Tetsuya in the rubble of a collapsed building. Both suffering from recent devastating losses, the two fight to stay alive and find themselves connecting while they protect the innocent child Tetsuya carries.
1. Chapter 1

**Heart of Ice**

**(Happy upcoming birthday to you, Grimmy! This is a Grimm/Tetsuya mpreg...yup! New pairing for me. Enjoy! Love, Spunky)**

**Chapter 1: In the Wreckage**

"_This is Kisuke,_" said a male voice on the other end of the phone line.

"It's Grimmjow," said the tall, blue-haired Espada, "I got the supplies to the Kuchiki elders at the evacuation point, and they gave me a token to enter the archive at Kuchiki Manor."

"_Good. I would have gone, myself, but you are really the best one to find what we're looking for._"

"I'm just surprised they would let me in at all," commented Grimmjow, "Aren't they supposed to be the big dogs of the noble families?"

"_They were,_" Kisuke affirmed, "_But the war has pretty much decimated the noble houses. It seems that, to really break the back of the shinigamis, Bach sent teams to attack the nobles directly. Word came that the Noble's General Council was in session, and that not half of the elders present survived the initial attack. The individual residences barely had time to begin evacuations. A lot of women and children never made it to the evacuation sites. The Furukawa clan, and several other lower noble houses were wiped out completely. Hundreds of them are missing...presumed dead. I'd say that the noble houses are in shambles. And with Byakuya, the strongest of them all, evacuated for healing in the Royal Realm and not even guaranteed to return, things don't look so good for them._"

"Then, we're kinda in the same boat," the Espada concluded.

"_Yeah._"

"All right. I'm almost to the manor. Damn, Kisuke. I thought we had it bad in Hueco Mundo, but I'm telling you there's bodies fucking everywhere around here! I've checked more than a few for signs of life, but so far..."

Grimmjow trailed off, his sharp eyes catching a slight movement in the rubble of a collapsed building.

"Hey, uh, I'll call you back when I get inside the archive, okay?"

"_Is s-?_"

Grimmjow snapped the phone shut and moved forward slowly, picking his way carefully through the debris and honing in on the source of the flicker of movement.

"Hello?" Grimmjow called, "Someone alive in here? Speak up quick. I aint got all day."

"I am h-here!" called a youthful, male voice.

"Okay, I'm coming. Just give me a sec," Grimmjow called back, stepping carefully around a fallen shinigami and making his way forward cautiously.

He bent slightly to avoid a bit of drooping ceiling, and paused to adjust to the lower light inside the devastated structure. He heard rustling and an exclamation of pain as the person he had come to rescue struggled to escape the debris that had pinned him, then realized the futility and reached for a blue hilted sword that laid just beyond his reach.

"Hey, take it easy!" Grimmjow growled, "You want to get out of here in one piece, then you need to calm down and fucking hold still!"

"B-but you are an Arrancar!" the young man objected, lifting his head to look up at Grimmjow, and startling him with a pair of lovely, wide sapphire eyes.

"Huh," huffed the blue-haired Espada, off-handedly, "Shinigami, you've got way worse problems, right now, than my kind. Now, hold still. I don't want this damned place coming down on us."

The young man looked less than pleased, but ceased his struggling. He laid still beneath the broken boards, watching Grimmjow closely.

"You ever seen an Espada close up?" Grimmjow asked, as he began to pull at the tangle of wood.

"No," the young man said softly, "The only hollows I have seen close up were ones that invaded my home, and paid for it with their lives."

"Hmmm," Grimmjow said, smirking, "Well, you don't have to worry about me invading your home and taking anything. Your home's a pile of shit and the dust all over everything's probably toxic too."

"Actually," the young man said, coughing as Grimmjow's movements stirred up the dust, "_my_ house is probably in even worse condition than this one. I only took refuge here, when the area was overrun. I was trying to reach my home."

"Where do you live?"

"Kuchiki Manor," said the man, "I am Tetsuya Kuchiki."

"Ah, a Kuchiki," repeated Grimmjow, "I just met with a group of your elders...delivering a bunch of medical supplies and food to the survivors from their residences."

"Did you hear any news of Byakuya Kuchiki?" Tetsuya asked, his eyes widening, "I felt the decline of his reiatsu, and..."

"Easy," Grimmjow said, pushing Tetsuya down gently, "He got the shit beat outta him, but he was taken to the Royal Realm with Rukia Kuchiki, Renji Abarai and Ichigo Kurosaki for healing."

"Oh," Tetsuya sighed, looking relieved, "That is good. And you say you met with our elders?"

"Yeah," Grimmjow confirmed, "The family properties were trashed, but your clan was pretty lucky. There were twenty or so deaths, all men who led the Sternritters off, while the others escaped to safety."

"I see," Tetsuya said sadly, "I regret I was not there, but...as I was not in condition for fighting..."

"You were already hurt?" Grimmjow asked, "I can heal you as soon as I get you out of here."

"I wasn't hurt before, though I seem to have injured my ankle in the collapse of this building."

"Then..." Grimmjow began, lifting the last of the broken boards away and staring in surprise at the shinigami's slightly, but noticeably rounded belly, "Wh-whoa! What is up with your gut?"

Tetsuya blushed and managed a nervous laugh.

"Ah...I suppose I should explain."

"Are you...a girl?" Grimmjow asked, looking confused, "Because I did think you were kinda pretty for a guy, but your voice..."

"I assure you, I am male," Tetsuya said, frowning, "It is just that there are a rare few among the male noble population who carry traces of ancient royal blood. The original transcendents were androgynous beings, able to procreate with any other transcendent. A rare few of these mated with non-transcendents, producing offspring who are anatomically male, but have within their bodies, a spirit chamber that is capable of collecting genetic material and reiatsu to make a shinigami child."

"Huh," mused the Espada, "So you couldn't fight because you're knocked up?"

"I can use my powers, but it has negative side effects, so I am only able to fight as a last resort."

"Heh, well, this is a last resort kinda situation," Grimmjow said, matter-of-factly, "So, after I fix your leg, you're gonna need to be prepared to take care of yourself. Can you do that?"

"Yes," Tetsuya assured him, "Especially if I can make contact with my counterpart. He was at Kuchiki Manor, helping to defend it."

"Well, then, your pal's probably dead."

"I don't think so," Tetsuya said, shaking his head, "Arashi is special. If he was to die, I would also pass from life within hours. I was trapped in that building all night. Had he died, I would not have been there for you to find."

"Ah. So...this Arashi...he's the kid's father?"

"Eh...actually, no," Tetsuya chuckled, "Arashi is a horse, a black Arabian stallion."

"A horse, huh?" Grimmjow mused, leaning over Tetsuya and examining his injured leg, briefly, "Well, I hope he's around to carry you, because your ankle is pretty badly broken. Even once I've healed it, you won't be able to walk for a while. I guess there's nothing for it, but for me to take you to the encampment, myself."

"But I need to go to the manor! I have to find Arashi and...!"

"Whoa, take it easy, okay?" Grimmjow said, raising his hands defensively, "You wanna go to Kuchiki Manor, I'm going there anyway. I was just thinking to get you somewhere safe where you would be with your relatives. Besides, isn't your...erm...husband looking for you?"

"I don't know," Tetsuya admitted, "He would have gone to the manor to meet Arashi and me. I only wasn't there because I had to be taken to the fourth division for an examination. I was returning when my escort was attacked and overrun. I managed to reach this house, but when the foot soldiers began storming the area and blowing things up, the house was destroyed, and I was trapped. I lost consciousness after that, and only woke as you arrived. But, did you say that you were going to the manor? Why? Erm...?"

"Oh...Grimmjow," the Espada said, removing the token that Kisuke had given him, "Kisuke has been helping us lead the resistance in Hueco Mundo," Grimmjow explained, "He sent me to look in the archive to try to find information related to an old myth about a hollow king. He says that we need that information somehow, to devise a strategy to defeat Bach's forces in our world."

"Kisuke Urahara is defending Hueco Mundo?" Tetsuya mused, "But then, Juha Bach is a huge threat to all of us, ne?"

"You got that right."

Grimmjow looked down at Tetsuya's partially healed leg and shook his head.

"That's gonna have to do it, for now. Luckily, your manor isn't far from here."

"And although the main buildings might be gone, we will find anything we will need in the archive," Tetsuya said, accepting Grimmjow's hand and climbing to his feet.

"Here," Grimmjow said, moving in close to him, "Lean on me a little. That should keep the weight off that foot."

The two began walking slowly, with Tetsuya managing a stumbling walk. The Espada studied him for a moment and made a sound of annoyance, then surprised the young man by sweeping him up and carrying him.

"Wh-what are you...?"

"Hey, Hueco Mundo's gonna die of old age if I wait for you to walk to the manor. Hold still."

Tetsuya hesitated for a few moments, then looped his arms around Grimmjow's neck and rested his head wearily on the Arracncar's shoulder. Grimmjow was surprised with a gentle, sweet scent of sakura that seemed to emit from the noble's pale body and long, wavy raven black hair. The pretty sapphire eyes blinked sleepily, bearing a weight of sadness as he spotted bodies of the fallen, littering the pathway.

"So, Hueco Mundo was devastated as well?" Tetsuya asked softly.

"Yeah," Grimmjow said in a low, angry voice, "Squads of the bastards came and took the stronger ones away, then just fucking killed as many of the rest of 'em as they could. Sick bastards..."

He swallowed hard as they came upon a woman and child, weeping at the side of a dead man. They nearly panicked at the sight of the tall Espada, but calmed at seeing Tetsuya in his arms.

"You should get out of here, lady," Grimmjow said gruffly, pulling out a short knife and handing it to her, along with a small ration of food, "Here...to get you to the evacuation center. Go up that road. It isn't far."

"But...!" the woman sobbed, looking down at her husband's collapsed body, "We can't carry him!"

"Grimmjow, will you please let me down?" asked Tetsuya.

The Espada set the noble on his feet, and Tetsuya drew his weapon.

"Touei," he breathed, "Re-kuhime."

He laid a hand on the man's body, then took the hands of the woman and boy in his other hand, and watched quietly as mother, child and body disappeared.

"What did you do?" Grimmjow asked, "Where...?"

"I sent them to the fourth division," explained Tetsuya, "I placed a few waterforms there, in case of emergencies."

"Huh...I don't suppose you can transport us to Kuchiki Manor?"

Tetsuya shook his head gently.

"The waterforms I placed there have been destroyed. I can only transport people and things to where I have placed the waterforms. The fact that they are gone is not a good sign. And that I cannot sense Arashi worries me, even more."

"Well, there's no use worrying," Grimmjow said gruffly, lifting the younger man off his feet again, "We'll be there soon and find out the state of things."

The two went quiet again, Tetsuya resting his head against the tall Espada's shoulder, and Grimmjow observing the pregnant noble out of the corner of one, ice blue eye. They passed more collapsed buildings and scores of bloodied corpses dotting the road. Tetsuya closed his eyes against the sight, shivering in Grimmjow's arms.

"You're not used to this, huh? Seeing so much death and dying around you?"

Tetsuya's eyes met his briefly, and he nodded.

"I am head of manor security, and Lord Byakuya's bodyguard. But challenges to our home have been few, and not serious...not even during Aizen's offensive. What makes it worse is that I know some of these people. It is heartbreaking how murderous these quincies are. They call it revenge for the shinigamis trying to exterminate them. But the ones who committed that crime upon them are mostly dead and gone. The ones here have little understanding of what transpired before. It is all such pointless violence. I do not understand that at all."

"I think it sucks too," Grimmjow agreed, "And what they did in Hueco Mundo to the hollows, who never did anything to them is a fucking disgrace. There was no reason to harm us. We had nothing to do with what happened a thousand years ago. I don't get why he involved us."

"I don't know either," Tetsuya said softly, his breath catching and releasing in a distressed sob as they came upon a collapsed stallion and a slain shinigami.

"Shiro!" Tetsuya cried, breaking free of Grimmjow's hold and breaking into a run. His injured ankle buckled, and he crashed to the ground at the dead man's side, "Shiro, no!"

Grimmjow took a steadying breath and swallowed hard, watching as Tetsuya tried in vain to revive the man. He waited until well beyond a reasonable time, then moved to the devastated noble's side and touched him gently on the shoulder.

"He's gone," the Espada said quietly, but matter-of-factly, "But that's your horse, right? He's breathing."

"B-but Shiro!" Tetsuya sobbed.

"You should use your waterforms to evacuate those two and yourself to the fourth division, like you did that lady and her husband and kid."

Tetsuya's head bowed briefly, and he leaned forward and kissed his husband gently on the forehead. He drew his sword and invoked his power, then sent Shiro's body to the healing center.

"What about you and the horse?" Grimmjow asked, frowning, "I sure as hell can't carry both of you!"

"I can heal Arashi," Tetsuya explained, "He is not badly hurt. And we owe you for helping us, when you have pressing things to do. So, Arashi will carry us to Kuchiki Manor, and I will assist you in finding what you need within the family archive. You _would_ benefit from having the help of one who knows the archive well."

"Yeah," Grimmjow agreed, watching as Tetsuya rubbed the tears away from his eyes and moved to the stallion's side.

He laid his hands on the stallion and raised a green field of healing energy around him.

"Hey, shouldn't I do that?" Grimmjow asked, "What, with you being knocked up and all..."

"I can manage," Tetsuya said quietly, "I can restore his energy quickly, because of our close bond."

Within a few minutes, the stallion stirred under Tetsuya's hands. Then, he snorted and surged to his feet, taking a few staggering steps, then settling. He turned his head and sniffed briefly at Grimmjow, before blowing a soft huff of breath at him and tossing his head. His eyes blinked and reflected a lovely sapphire, like his shinigami master's.

Tetsuya accepted Grimmjow's hand and climbed to his feet, then flash stepped onto the stallion's back. He reached out a hand to the Sexta Espada and pulled Grimmjow up behind him. Grimmjow's arms wrapped around Tetsuya's rounded belly, and the noble touched Arashi's sides with his heels. The stallion surged forward, making Grimmjow's arms tighten around Tetsuya.

"Hey, take it easy, smartass!" Grimmjow snapped at the horse, "I'll make you into my next meal if you piss me off!"

Arashi snorted derisively and quickened his pace.

"Pain in the ass," Grimmjow muttered.

"You have no idea," Tetsuya chuckled under his breath.

He turned his head slightly to meet Grimmjow's eyes.

"Grimmjow, thank you for coming to my aid," he said, more softly.

"Forget about it." the Espada said, off-handedly.

He saw again, the sad image in his mind of Tetsuya crying over his lost lover, and a memory of his own threatened. He swallowed hard and shoved the thought away.

"I'm sorry about your husband."

"Thank you," Tetsuya whispered, "I must focus now on keeping this baby alive. He is all I have left of Shiro, and he is heir to the Aomori clan, so needs to be protected."

"Well," said Grimmjow, "You're safe enough with me. But once I get what I came for, I'm gonna have to turn you over to your kin."

"I understand," said Tetsuya, "I appreciate what help you are able to offer us."


	2. Heart Connection

**Chapter 2: Heart Connection**

**(Thanks so much to Nazrita (Here you go!), Scarlotte O'Hara (Wait till you see this twist!), TomyAllen (You are definitely going to like where this goes! Poor Grimmy doesn't know what he's getting into!), Aria6 (Oh yes! You will see lot's of Grimmjow action here!), MissLilly2012 (You want sparks? There are some good ones in this chapter!), and Sunless Nights (So glad you like! And here's the 'more' you were asking for!). Enjoy the chapter! I'm off to the Blue Bayou for dinner!).**

Tetsuya stiffened under Grimmjow's hands as Arashi closed in on Kuchiki Manor, and the stark, blackened ruins of the main building appeared. The front gates had been shattered, and the cobbled entry cracked and broken. The wooden walkway was a tumble of still smoldering timbers, and the living areas and kitchen were no longer recognizable. Tears came to Tetsuya's eyes and began to escape onto his face as they reached the razed gardens, to find the carefully tended flowers and shrubs torn and trampled, and the lovely sakura trees uprooted and mostly burned. Dead koi littered the destroyed ponds and the scents of brimstone and ash hung in the air.

"Shit..." Grimmjow breathed, "What a mess."

"Kuchiki gardens was one of the most beautiful places in our world," Tetsuya said softly, "Every tree, every flower and bush, every cobblestone and every blade of grass is set in place whenever a new leader is chosen. Lord Byakuya first made these gardens over in the way he chose, when he came of age to officially accept leadership from his grandfather, who had designed the gardens before him. To have witnessed both its beginning and now its end is..."

"Don't look at it like that," Grimmjow said, in a suddenly more aggressive tone, "Byakuya's being healed, right? So, he can restore the gardens when he comes back here."

Tetsuya looked ready to argue, but noted Grimmjow's hard expression and cleared his throat gently, wiping the tears from his eyes. He took a steadying breath and gazed back at the Sexta Espada quietly.

"That's better," Grimmjow growled, "You want to survive, then you have to have the right thinking. You let yourself think too much about the pain and..."

He broke off suddenly, remembering...

_"M-master Nnoitora?" whispered a shaky male voice._

_Grimmjow tightened the binding around the badly wounded Fraccion's wounds._

_"Nnoitora's dead," Grimmjow told him._

_"Th-that shingami...that barbarian?"_

_"Yeah," Grimmjow acknowledged softly, "He killed him. You'll be all right, though."_

_The injured hollow looked down at his healing body, then up at Grimmjow again._

_"Why?" he asked "Why are you healing me? M-master Nnoitora tried to kill you. I am his...was...his fraccion. Do you not want to kill me?"_

_"Naw," Grimmjow said in a low voice, "I lost my fraccion and you lost your leader. I think maybe you and me should stick together...ne, Tesla?"_

_Tears ran freely down the forlorn fraccion's pale cheeks, but he stiffened his lips and nodded._

_"I am...yours to command, from now on," he half-sobbed, "Thank you for healing me, Master Grimmjow."_

_But even as the days and weeks had passed, the weight of loss had grown on the younger man, gnawing away at him, until his mind became frayed, and his body began to decline. Grimmjow forcibly stopped his mind from replaying the end._

"You gave up," he whispered, "You just couldn't take it...couldn't accept it, even though I tried to be there for you..."

"Grimmjow, are you all right?" Tetsuya asked, squeezing the Espada's hand gently.

For a moment, Tetsuya's face was written over in the image of the mourning Tesla's. Grimmjow blinked, forcing down the hard, biting emotions that it caused inside him.

"I'm fine," he said tersely, "Where's the archive? Is it even still here?"

Tetsuya nodded and indicated a set of ruins to their left. Grimmjow slid down off Arashi's back, then offered a hand to Tetsuya, who froze for a moment, before quietly accepting.

"What's wrong," Grimmjow asked, smirking, "Still think all hollows are out to eat you?"

"It is odd how our preconceptions can overcome even what evidence we see, close up," the shinigami observed, "I don't want to fear you."

"You don't have to," chuckled, "Even if I did want to hurt you, you're powerful."

Tetsuya looked at him questioningly.

"What? You think I'm not smart enough to figure that out?" the Espada asked, shaking his head, "You're Captain Byakuya Kuchiki's head of security and personal bodyguard. You would _have_ to be powerful, right?"

"I am...usually," Tetsuya admitted, "Just less so, when in this state."

A momentary flash of discomfort registered on Tetsuya's face, nudging Grimmjow into motion.

"This way, you said?" he asked brusquely.

"Yes," Tetsuya said, approaching the mass of burned debris.

He reached out a hand, breathing a soft command that made the air in front of him shimmer, and a door appear.

"Huh, well that's something you don't see every day," the blue-haired Espada commented, following as Tetsuya led him through the doorway.

They passed through a long hallway, then it opened up slightly, revealing several rooms to the left and right, then a great, golden door at the back of the archive.

"Where does that go?" Grimmjow asked.

"Our leader, alone, is allowed to use that door to enter the Royal Realm," Tetsuya explained, "It repels all but him."

"Huh, cool privilege."

"Yes."

Tetsuya turned into the first room on the left, which contained walls full of books, and several locked cabinets and boxes. He headed across the room, and they entered a small alcove that contained a reading desk, a bed, a small showering room and stocked kitchen area.

"I must eat to restore myself," Tetsuya said, "You are welcome to join me for food and tea, if you like. Then, I will show you where to find the materials related to your search. You did say you were interested in pursuing hollow lore related to a hollow king?"

"Yeah," said Grimmjow, "There's supposed to be something about another holocaust a thousand years ago, that was kinda like this one. Only difference was, Hueco Mundo was led, at the time, by a king. There's a reference to some prophecy about another great massacre, and the return of the hollow king to bring things into balance. That's what Kisuke needs to find."

"He means to raise the hollow king?" Tetsuya asked, paling at the thought, "But then, if we work in cooperation with the hollows, we will all have more strength with which to resist Juha Bach and his Sternritters."

Enough about that," Grimmjow said gruffly, "You look like you're about to pass out. Let's get some food and tea into you. Where's the food? I'll make us something. You make the tea."

"Erm...you know how to cook...for a shinigami?" Tetsuya asked uncertainly.

"Oh, don't worry," Grimmjow said, smirking at him, "I will leave out the roasted shinigami eyeballs, hearts and livers."

"Good heavens, I hope so," Tetsuya said, looking slightly ill.

"Will you shut up? I was teasing you," Grimmjow said reprovingly, "I know things are pretty damned serious right now, but you have to keep a little bit of your sense of humor, or you're gonna die a lot sooner."

"What? You will tire of me and use me for the stew?" Tetsuya asked, a bit saucily.

"Oh, I have better uses for a pretty thing like you," Grimmjow chuckled, "Go, make the tea. I'll just make some rice and vegetables. That do for you?"

"Yes, that will be fine," Tetsuya assured him, turning towards the tea making appparatus. He worked at making the tea, stealing small glances at the Espada as he worked.

_I've never really interacted with a hollow in this way. It's very different than I would have expected...but Grimmjow is powerful. I can feel the strength in him._

In minutes, the tea was hot, and Tetsuya sat down at the table, placing one cup in front of himself, and one where Grimmjow was to sit. Grimmjow finished the cooking a short time later, and brought two plates of food to the table. He dropped into his chair and dove into the food hungrily, forgetting, for a moment, the somewhat shy and reserved shinigami in his presence. He felt Tetsuya watching, and flashed the younger man a toothy grin.

"How is it?"

He watched as Tetsuya tried the meal, and nodded in approval.

"It is perfect," he said, appreciatively, "I cannot seem to get enough of it."

"That's the kid in your belly, probably stealing the nutrients."

"To some extent," Tetsuya agreed, "But just as the body needs to be fed, so does the reiatsu."

"Oh, and how does that happen?" Grimmjow asked casually.

"W-we have...had...a bonding ritual," Tetsuya explained, blushing, "But, I suppose I will have to keep the forces in balance myself, from now on."

"I could help, if you tell me how," Grimmjow offered.

Tetsuya's blush deepened and he looked away shyly.

"It is...sort of personal," he confessed, "But do not worry. I will be fine."

"Eh, suit yourself," Grimmjow said, off-handedly, turning his attention fully to the food in front of him.

He laughed softly at how eagerly the younger man attacked his food, while still making an attempt to use proper manners.

"Hey, don't feel like you have to hold back on my account," he said, smirking, "You're not exactly in 'polite company,' when you are with me. Go ahead and let loose."

"Um, thank you," the noble answered in a flustered tone, "This child does seem very insistent on being fed constantly. I was trapped for an entire night, and unable to eat or drink. It seems to have impacted me strongly."

Grimmjow turned his attention back to his food and made quick work of it, then asked for Tetsuya's opinion about where he should start his search.

"Take your time eating," he told the noble, "I'll start looking and you can join me when you are finished."

He left the alcove and began his search, as Tetsuya remained at the table, eating heartily and stealing glances at the tall, blue-haired Espada.

_He is so different from anyone I know. He would be an enemy, and in fact, was one during the conflict with Aizen. But, right now, I think we are both very aware of how we need to cooperate to survive._

He reached down and rubbed his belly, smiling down at it as he continued to eat. But, oddly, even eating didn't seem to give him the usual, calmer, more settled feeling. Instead, a deeper, more discomfiting kind of hunger gnawed at him, making him feel weak and somewhat light-headed. He took a last sip of tea and walked over to the bed, thinking to just lie down for a short time. But, even as he dropped off, he felt his body shivering a though in fever, and heavier dizziness stole over him.

"Hey, you all right?" Grimmjow's voice asked, cutting into his reverie, "You look even worse than you did before you ate. What's going on?"

"It...seems that my reiatsu has lost some stability, due to the stress on my systems," Tetsuya explained.

"So, what do we do for that?"

"Eh, usually, Shiro and I would use a bonding ritual to bring my systems and the child's into balance again."

"Well, then I should try to do that, ne? To balance things? How do you do it?"

"Ah..." Tetsuya said, hesitantly, blushing more brightly, "Y-you and I have not..."

He trailed off, his face going nearly white, and his body going limp, where he laid on the bed.

"Hey! Don't you do that, now. Wake up, okay?" Grimmjow said, an edge of urgency and unusual concern in his voice, "You have to tell me what to do to balance your reiatsu!"

He felt panic inside as he studied Tetsuya closely, just to make sure he was still breathing, then he left the shinigami on the bed and sought the books on the shelves for information.

"Come on...I need something on male pregnancy," he muttered, searching the shelves in the room he was in, then moving to the next room and conducting a quick search there. He found what he thought might be a useful text in the third room and used his sonido to quickly return to Tetsuya's side.

The noble was deeply unconscious, showing no response to Grimmjow's voice or touch. The blue-haired Espada scanned the pages of the book he had found and studied the ritual briefly.

"The bonded, having completed the initiating ritual and impregnated the subject, then places his palms on the bared belly, focusing on the area and feeling the forces within, then using his own reiatsu to stabilize the bearer and balance his reiatsu with that of the child. Only one having completed the initiating ritual may stabilize the bearer. If the mate is unable to continue the balancing, due to disability, abandonment or death, another must first complete the initiating ritual, then attend to the balancing. Damn...initiating ritual...initiating ritual. Where the fuck are you?"

He found the section and read swiftly, freezing as it struck him what he had to do.

"What the hell? No way!" he hissed, glancing down at the unconscious shinigami, "There's no damned way I'm gonna..."

But a shiver went through him at the decline of Tetsuya's reiatsu, and the grey cast that had begun to creep onto his lovely skin.

"Aw, damn it all to hell!" he snapped, biting at his lips and struggling with the idea, then caving in completely as he realized what was going to happen to the ailing shinigami and the child if he did nothing.

With shaking hands, he reached down and bared Tetsuya's body. Then, he swallowed hard and opened his own clothing.

"Please don't fucking kill me for this, but it seems that it's the only way I can balance your reiatsu, or you're gonna die. Sorry."

He lifted himself over the unconscious noble, scenting him and feeling himself harden, just thinking about what he was going to do. He carefully prepared the younger man, then laid down gently on top of him, entering him slowly and watching him closely for any sign of him waking.

The sweet sakura smell of him and the softness and heat around Grimmjow made his mind go blank for a moment. It was all too easy then to begin moving. He would have closed his eyes, but he was terrified of seeing that other pale face he remembered.

_Tetsuya is different than Tesla. Although, he does seem to have loved this Shiro very much, he is accepting of his death in a way that Tesla could not accept his master's death. No, Tetsuya is a survivor. And we are not lovers. I have to look that in the face and remember it._

But his mind wavered as Tetsuya seemed to regain enough sense to move with him, and his hands wrapped around Grimmjow's thrusting body. He moaned in distress and panted against the Espada's shoulder, hanging on tightly and shivering as it seemed to reach him, what was happening.

He seemed about to speak, but was stopped as Grimmjow loosed a deep exclamation of pleasure and loosed his release into the younger man. Blue light flared sweetly around the two, and Grimmjow froze as Tetsuya's eyes opened and found his.

He was stunned as the expected fear and shock turned quickly into calm acceptance. Tetsuya broke eye contact and buried his face in Grimmjow's shoulder as his own body seized in response to the Espada, and warmth spilled out between the two. They fell quiet, then, for several moments, then Grimmjow lifted himself off of the noble and placed his hands on Tetsuya's rounded belly, letting his reiatsu leak out and enter the area. He focused on the swirl of untamed reiatsu inside Tetsuya, and slowly, carefully, brought it under his control.

"There," he said, finally breaking the silence between them, "You all right now?"

"Y-yes," Tetsuya managed in a weak, trembling voice, "But Grimmjow, do you know what you have done?"

"Yeah, I just saved your life," the Espada chuckled, "Sorry about what I had to do. I did do that right, ne? But it was that or watch you die."

"You didn't read everything, did you?" Tetsuya asked softly.

"What? Well, I didn't have time. You were dying, you know, so I had to do it...erm...do something fast. Why? Did I do something wrong? Would you rather be dead?"

"Well," Tetsuya said softly, "_You_ might end up desiring that, perhaps."

"What? How's that?"

"Erm...by completing the initiating ritual so that we could bond, you added your essence to the child's reiatsu. Grimmjow, now you are this child's father too!"


	3. Not This Soul

**Chapter 3: Not This Soul**

**(A quick round of thanks before my Internet gets taken away and I hit the road for the day! Thanks to Alliefan (I'm so glad you are enjoying 'Daddy Grimmjow!' He is a lot of fun.), Alabirdie (Aww, thanks! I'm glad you like! And I am already at work on the beginning chapters for the 'Redstravaganza' in August!), Ann (All right! I got up early, before dawn, just to finish this before taking off for a day of touring. Now my fingers are as tired as my feet are from walking all day for Comic-Con, followed by a day at Disneyland! Less walking today, but lot's to see!), SunlessNights (Oh, there's a lot more cuteness coming! Poor Grimmy won't be able to resist!), MissLilly2012 (Oh, and I've got some more interesting turns planned! *smiles wickedly*), Maru de Kusanagi (I am so glad you are enjoying the story!), Scarlotte O'Hara (I have wanted to do something with Tesla for a while, so I'm getting my feet wet here and may do something more with him in future stories.), and Aria6 (I am looking forward to bringing their child into the story! I have all kinds of ideas.) Thanks again, everyone! Eek! Husband stealing computer away! Have to post quickly. I only have 30 seconds! Grrrrr!)**

"Grimmjow, now you are this child's father too."

The blue-haired Espada did a slow doubletake, his ice-blue eyes narrowing as Tetsuya's softly spoken words hit home.

"Wait, what the hell'd you say?" he demanded, "What was that?"

"I said that when you...you..."

"When I had sex with you?" Grimmjow asked, scowling and making Tetsuya's face and throat flush in reaction.

"Yes, that caused a binding of your semen and reiatsu with the cluster that makes up the child. As long as it is in reiatsu form, inside me, it will be affected by anyone who...t-takes me sexually."

"You're shitting me, right? That's crazy!"

"It was in that book."

"Well, it's not like I had time to read the fucking fine print! You were this close to dying!" the Espada objected, glaring at the fiercely blushing noble, "Look, I can't be your goddamned babydaddy, okay? I don't have room in my life for that kind of pain in the ass complication, and I doubt you signed on for being the mate of a hollow!"

"N-no," Tetsuya managed, glaring back at Grimmjow, "But, it is not like I had any choice, or any control over the situation."

"Oh, so this is _my_ fault for not letting you die while I read every little detail about your condition? And what fucking weird kinda shit _is _that, anyway?"

"I told you! I am a rare case," Tetsuya said, his ire rising, "I am not blaming you for doing what you did. In fact, I am grateful to you. But you must be able to understand my shock at waking up..."

"To find yourself being fucked by a hollow. I get that! I didn't really want to do it, you know?"

"Yes, I know. And being that I've only just lost my husband, I don't feel ready either. So, don't worry about helping me anymore. I can see that you have important things to do. And I have responsibilities as well. I will tell you what. I will help you find what you need, then you can be on your way to save Hueco Mundo and you can forget that this baby and I exist!" Tetsuya snapped angrily.

"That's fine by me!" shouted Grimmjow, "I told you I don't need that kinda trouble right now!"

"Fine!" the noble said, clenching his jaw and looking away from the Espada.

Grimmjow turned on his heel and disappeared into the bathroom, leaving Tetsuya lying on the bed and looking down at his recently plundered body. He swallowed hard, remembering when consciousness had begun to return.

_At first, it seemed as though Shiro had suddenly returned to him. And even though he understood that his husband had died, some part of him still clung to the beauty of what they had shared. _

_But then, he began to register the differences...the wilder feel of this man's motions, the strength in the arms that held him, the intensity in his burgeoning reiatsu. Tetsuya reeled as Grimmjow's more primal, hollow reiatsu collided with his, producing an explosion of light and power around them, as the two forces met, and began to merge. _

_As the bond opened up between them, Tetsuya suffered a jolt at the flashes of memory and thought that emanated from the other man...memories of life as a hollow, of Aizen and the war against the shinigamis, then the aftermath. The pale, tormented face of another hollow appeared in Tetsuya's stunned mind, leaving a dark, sad impression as he slowly returned to reality and began to respond, almost without thinking, to the movement of Grimmjow's strong body on top of his._

_He felt no animosity, nor cruelty in the hollow's riled thoughts...only concern, and something nagging that seemed to relate to that other hollow he had been thinking about._

Tetsuya looked up at the bathroom door, listening to the sound of the falling water and wondering.

_What happened to that other hollow that seems to make Grimmjow so irascible? And what was this hollow to him? A lover? Or were they married?_

He forced the thoughts away and left the bed, quickly locating a washcloth and towel, and cleaning up the sticky mess their joining had left on his body. He was surprised at the fact that the memory of being with Grimmjow, a hollow and a natural enemy of the shinigamis, would bring, not revulsion or fear, but instead inspired curiosity.

_He is so very different than what I expected, although I was aware that the higher level Arrancars were more civilized and intelligent. They are still hollows, but they are not as different from us as one would think. In fact, we are startlingly similar in some ways. We both care about others, about the fate of our kin. We both love and despise. We embrace the good things and press on through the bad. We both protect our own and have pride in who we are._

_Not so very different._

Inside the bathroom, breathing deeply in the comfort of his first hot shower in weeks, Grimmjow's mind seemed to pick up on the path of Tetsuya's thoughts, and he found himself wondering at what had happened between Tetsuya and him.

_It was strange, becoming one with somebody so different, not just because he is a shinigami and a noble and I am a hollow, but because of his gentler nature. Tetsuya is powerful, and I sense that he has the ability to inflict serious damage. But he holds back carefully and doesn't make any show of his ability, except when he has to. But then, we had to show our teeth, growing up in Hueco Mundo. If you show weakness there, you aren't going to survive. You'll be devoured. Yeah, Tetsuya and me are very different types._

_But what was that I saw while we were joined? I saw him as a kid, curled up in a cage and hurting. The guards in that place looked like him, too. Why would someone like Tetsuya have been imprisoned like that? It's hard to make sense of._

_But it doesn't matter, right?_

_Tetsuya Kuchiki and his little brat are not my problem, after I finish my research, here. I'll leave him with his family, and I'm sure they won't let him die. Someone else will just fuck him and be bonded with him. That's not a bad thing, right? Why would he want to be bonded with someone like me, anyway? _

_We're from different worlds._

_Sure, he's beautiful and powerful, and I could spend the rest of my life, lost in those pretty eyes of his. I can imagine how good those soft hands would feel, holding on to me like he did when I carried him...like he did when I made love to him._

Grimmjow froze, blinking.

_Stop it. It was just sex. And it was only to keep him and the kid from dying. Anyone would have done the same thing, ne? It's not like I could have sat there, knowing I had what was needed, but not doing anything. Who could do that, right? Especially with it being someone like him. Yeah, I know the type...powerful inside, but pretty and soulful on the surface. He's loyal, the kind who would die to protect even those another person wouldn't raise a finger to save. Because he doesn't have the same barriers that other people do. He was afraid of me, at first, but that heart in him discovered quickly that we aren't that different, and now he treats me like anyone else. I don't know anybody like that. I could use some of that in my life._

_But that's craziness._

_It's not like we'd be able to be together, if it wasn't for the facts of this war. We would be enemies, and we probably wouldn't have ever met, except with the intent of killing each other. But, why can't I think of Tetsuya as an enemy?_

Grimmjow's mind was invaded, then, with memories of touching that warm, soft body, breathing in the lovely smell of sakura and becoming one with Tetsuya. And just that memory was enough to make his thick member stiffen again. He looked down at the offending appendage, frowning.

_You don't know what's good for you and what's not. I'm a hollow. I've got no business fucking a shinigami. We're enemies...at least, most of the time. And what would we do if we did get together? Somehow, I don't see Tetsuya leaving the Seireitei and coming to raise this kid in a fucking cave, in the desert, where there's not even any proper food and water. And I'm a hollow. I belong in that dead place, not here. I'm sure that, after the war, the others here will be glad to remind me of that, if I forget._

_But, who says we're even going to live through this?_

_If Juha Bach wins, then we're all fucking dead anyway. So, maybe it's not so reckless to hold on for a little while to something that doesn't belong to me. At very least, he's soft, hot and very beautiful. I feel like it wasn't enough, just being with him that once. I didn't get to really explore him at all. I was in too much of a hurry._

_Yeah, it would be better to slow down and take my time undoing him..._

Grimmjow didn't mean for it to happen, but teased by his thoughts of the younger man, he let his eyes slide closed and ran a soapy hand down his torso, finding his hungry arousal and stimulating it slowly, as he imagined how he would make love to Tetsuya.

_It's stupid. It's never going to happen this way. But, who gives a damn, right? It feels good to think of it, and not much else that's good is going on right now. I need something to get me through. And it's not hurting anyone. It's not like it's real._

His hand moved slowly, sliding over the slick satin skin and causing lovely flickers of pleasure all over. He pictured in his mind, _Tetsuya standing in front of him, those wide, sapphire eyes looking into his and pleading softly for his touch. In his mind's eye, he let his fingers slide through the wavy lengths of riled black hair, his mouth seeking Tetsuya's and his tongue thrusting inside as Tetsuya moved closer and let their naked bodies press together. He wrapped an arm around the noble's waist, holding him tightly as their kissing continued, then seeking the warm, wet skin of his throat and devouring it slowly...feeling the heavy, quickened throbs of his heartbeat beneath the fine, sweet skin and his riled member leaking fitfully in response._

_He tightened his fingers in the shinigami's hair, pulling him away and looking into his dark, lovely eyes for a moment, then pushing him downward. Tetsuya's slick skin teased his as the noble slid slowly down his torso, touching it with brief, fluttering kisses all of the way. He came down lightly on his knees and looked up into Grimmjow's aggressively glittering eyes, before placing his hands on the taller man's thighs and seeking his engorged member._

_Grimmjow couldn't help but moan out loud, just thinking about being pleasured by that heated, silken mouth, looking down into those smoldering, half-closed eyes and devouring that wonderful, sweet scent. And Tetsuya, it seemed, couldn't get enough of the wild, untamed taste of him. He brought the blue-haired Espada to the very ends of his wits, making his heart pound fiercely until he began to disappear into the sensation. Grimmjow loosed himself forcefully, gasping at the grippingly beautiful jolts of pleasure and caressing the lovely shinigami's pale throat as Tetsuya fed on his essence._

_He pulled the younger man back onto his feet, forcing him back against the tiled wall and falling on his mouth, savoring the blending of their heady, masculine flavors. Tetsuya moaned into his mouth and his slender hand found Grimmjow's, asking without words, for a return of the pleasure he had given his Arrancar lover._

_The blue-haired Espada was more that happy to respond. His seething mouth and seeking fingers sought to touch and explore every inch of that sweet, perfect skin. And every taste only made him want another, every touch made him want to touch the shinigami there again. And in far less time than should have happened, Grimmjow was aroused again. Unable to resist, he captured one of the shinigami's slim legs and lifted it, perfecting the angle so that he could take Tetsuya, still standing. Then, he plunged deeply into his shinigami lover's shaking body, moving fast and feeding both their swelling desires. Tetsuya clung hard to his shoulders, his pearly nails biting into the Espada's flesh. But Grimmjow couldn't feel it at all. No, all he could feel was the rush of intense madness, the bliss that wrapped around them, enveloped them...swallowed them whole and left Tetsuya collapsed against him, and both men bathed in the rapture of their mutual climax._

Grimmjow panted harshly, pleasure raking his body as he returned suddenly to reality. Then, a sudden thought occurred to him.

_If I can sometimes see into his mind, does Tetsuya also see things in mine?_

He let out a piqued breath.

_What a fucking pain in the ass..._

_Let's just hope he wasn't paying attention to that._

Although, he imagined the powerful reiatsu swells might well have alerted the younger man to what he was doing.

_Who in the hell cares? It doesn't matter. None of it does. That pest is out of my life when we're done here, and he'll be back where he belongs. My head should go back into the right place, once he's gone._

But some part of him wasn't so sure.

Grimmjow gave a soft, piqued exhale and washed away the evidence of his mental wanderings, then left the shower and dried off. He walked out into the bedroom and found that Tetsuya had changed out of his torn, dirty clothes and was no longer in the bedroom.

"Baka," the Espada hissed softly, "You should still be in bed."

He put on a yukata he found in the closet, then slipped out of the bedroom on silent feet and stalked the young noble, to a room near the golden doorway at the end of the hall, where Tetsuya stood on a small ladder, reaching up to remove a book from one of the high shelves. Grinning smugly, the Espada lowered himself into a crouch and stalked closer, watching as Tetsuya remained on the ladder, perusing the tome he had chosen, for a few moments, then shaking his head, replacing it on the shelf, and reaching for another.

The Espada employed his fastest sonido, blazing silently across the room and sweeping the surprised shinigami off of the ladder, then delivering him onto a bed in the alcove in that room. Tetsuya gasped in surprise as he was collected up, and carefully restrained himself from reacting as he normally might have, at being grabbed by what would normally be an enemy. Instead, he laid on his back, beneath the Sexta Espada, looking up into his stern eyes quetioningly.

"You shouldn't be up, and especially not climbing on ladders, you fool," he said reprovingly, "Your bones might have been healed, but your body needs time to recover. And you should eat some more. I'll make you something."

"But, the information you asked for...?"

"You just let me worry about that," Grimmjow snapped, "You don't need to be worried about the fate of some goddamned hollows, when your world is falling apart too."

Tetsuya's eyes flickered with anger and his lips tightened rebelliously.

"We _all_ should care about what happens to _all_ of us. Because, the truth is that, if we had been attending to that, we might have kept both of our worlds from falling, Grimmjow."

The words shouldn't have made him feel anything, let alone the deep sadness that shot through him. He glared back at Tetsuya, letting his fingers run down the side of one soft cheek, then stealing a slow, savory kiss.

"Shut up, okay? Just rest. You've already told me where to look. And I can ask you whatever I need to know. You need to take advantage of this time you have for healing. Once we go out there again, we're both going to be fighting for our lives, alongside everyone else. You understand? I won't be there to save your ass if you get trapped again, Tetsuya."

"I know that," the noble said, touches of mingled sadness and belligerence in his voice, "I don't need you to save me again, Grimmjow. I won't be a hindrance, once we leave here."

"Good," the Espada said, trying to fend off the odd emotions that nagged at what felt like his heart, "Because I don't need some pathetic, needy boy-girl, chasing after me, dreaming there's something there that's not!"

He ignored the instant look of hurt that flashed in the noble's stormy blue eyes, and lifted himself, then walked back to the shelves that Tetsuya had been searching. He turned back, intending to ask where he'd left off, when a swift flash step sounded, and Tetsuya disappeared from the room.

"Shit..."

He followed after, catching the younger man around the waist, then finding himself left breathless as Tetsuya turned and struck him with three, lightning fast strikes, sending him sliding back and leaving him crouched and gasping on the floor. A moment later, the glowing tip of a blue steel sword touched his back.

"Huh..." he huffed, closing his eyes.

"You see," Tetsuya panted, "I don't need _you_ or anyone else to save me. I have Arashi, and when Byakuya returns, I will have him too. That is all that I need in the world. It is all that I still live for."

"Stupid fool!" Grimmjow roared, knocking the sword aside and forcing Tetsuya back against the wall, "Are you completely out of your mind? You know, blind loyalty like that will only take you so far, and then you are going to break apart and die Tesla! Let it go! Let it fucking go and live for yourself or you really are going to die!"

He realized suddenly what he had said and stared into Tetsuya's widened eyes, knowing he couldn't have missed it either. There was a long moment of silence, then Tetsuya's hand touched Grimmjow's lightly.

"You lost someone too," he said, more softly, "You understand how..."

"I don't understand _shit_!" Grimmjow hissed, shivering with memory, "But I do know that if you don't find something more to live for than your leader, your horse, or your dead husband, you are going to fall apart, Tetsuya! You need to have more than that."

"I know that," Tetsuya said solemnly, "I do have more to live for."

He captured Grimmjow's hand and brought it to rest on his baby bump.

"You have more to live for too. You should remember that."

Grimmjow scowled.

"Shut up and get back in that bed, before I tie you down!"

Without waiting for an answer, Grimmjow swept him off his feet and returned him to bed. Tetsuya complied quietly, his dark eyes contemplative as the Espada tucked him in, then brought him food and tea again. He let Tetsuya alone with a final admonishment to stay in bed, then left to search the shelves of the archive. Tetsuya ate silently, his mind replaying their last interaction, then blushing as he remembered what had crept into his mind while the Espada had been showering.

_He was thinking of, not just bonding or 'having sex,' but making love to me. Why is he like this? Why are his actions such a departure from what he really feels? Who was Tesla to him, and how, exactly, did he die?_

_He is so complicated._

_I wonder what he will really decide to do about us, once it is time to leave here._

_But that assumes there is an 'us' to consider._

He felt a stirring in his belly and rubbed the area gently, feeling the echoes of the three who had contributed to the child's existence.

_I won't think about the future. I will just focus on what we have now._

_That will have to be enough, in case we have no tomorrow._


End file.
